Combination nut-cracking device.



R. A. PARSONS. COMBINATION NUT CRACKING DEVICE. ,9

4 APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 27, 191";- 1,099,996.

Patented June 16, 1914.

11. .11. PARSONS. COMBINATION NUT CRACKING DEVICE.

APPLIGATION FI LED SBPT. 27, 1911.

Patented June 16, 1914.

- a EHEETSTSHBET 2.

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ing, cracking and holding edible nuts; .my

State of Colorado, have invented certain I the 'nutmontaining bowl and anvil =being 'dishfat a table; whic will be cle'anyex position and arranged so that as the nuts of this character having an anvil 05 poundsATEsf ATEnr o RALPH A. PARSONS, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

COMBINATION NUT-CRACKING DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RALPH A. PAnsoNs, a citizen offthe United States, anda resident of the city of Denver, county of Denver, and

new and useful Improvements in Combination Nut-Cracking Devices, of which the following is a full, true, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention belongs to the class of articles. used for cracking or breaking-edible nuts, and. the object of, my inventicnds to provide a unitary, self-contained article which will combine or embody all of the essential parts in convenient form for servobjectfurther being to provide a novel nutcracking outfit of this, character which will have a nut cracking anvil portion contained within a bowl or receptacle in convenient position: to be used for crackin the nuts served in the bowl, and which, iecause of permanently associated and. ready for use, may be served as any eneral or individual t zeinely convenient and which may be arranged in plain .or ornamental design according to individual taste.

provide a nut-cracking device which willeliminate all possibility, of alpersons fingers being injured 13 misdirected blows.

With these objects f view my invention comnrises a novel article of manufacture in t e form of'a plain ororna' nental nut bowl within which is a nut cracking anvil or crushing surface always in] convenient are cracked they drop into the dish and are i not scattered about over the ifioor or table. My invention further. res des man article ing surface so formed that no matterwhat size of nut is-being cracked the persons fingers holding the nut will test. against the side thereof and not upon the. surface, and should the hannner.v accidentally strike the fingers it will not bruise or injure them, but instead will simply force, the fingers down,

along'the side of the-am d, In, a morespecitie aspect my inyention may-be'said to consist ina nut crack ng de;

vi e as herein disclosed and comprising a,

r j Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September '27, 1911.

. a self-contained article.

Iand ready for use.

a table or among a g,

Patented June iii, this.

Serial No. 851,653.

nut-crackinganvil formed for a mmodation of different sixes of nuts itllL positions with-in and supported by a bowl: nped has :ulaptpdto contain whole and cracked nut The accompanying drawings, which form a. part of this s rscilication, illustrate my" ,1nvent1on.'

in theshydirau'ings, Figure l i perspective view of: simply design d article cin- -bodying my invention; Figs. 1? and are dia- ,metrical sections taken at right angles to leach other showing the structural details thereof; Fig. 4: is a perspective view 'of the anvil portion illustrating the mannci in which the fingers hold thedifierent-sised nuts thereon without danger or injury from misdirected blows when a'hannner isused to crack the nuts; and Fig. illustratesmy invention modified so that a number of devices may be nested together'in a stack like dishes. v

My novel nut-cracking outfit irrespective of the particular design which may be given to it serves many purposes and functions as It constitiites tieceptacle or bowl for carrying and holding 'the w'holeand cracked nuts, either 111 one, @general compartment or several, as suits the tastes and requirements of the individual,

.and at the same time a nut-cracking device ,whlch 1S permanently associated with the A further ob ect of my. invention is to bowl where it is always handy, convenient Because of these fea tures it may he passed from guest to guest at ,p of people, or

several of them maybe served as individual gdlSllGS, each acomplet-e outfit in itself. In

cracking nuts the guests are not likely to scatter the particles about the fioor or table,

butinstead dr'op them directly into the bowl.

The whole structure presents an artistic appearance and may constitute apart of a persons tableware, just as any other, dish. The bowl A obiiously' not only serves as a nut container, but as a base orsupport for E the anvil B which in the form shown in the ;draw 1ngs uses a convenient d stance above the rim'of the bowl When the anvil is cen-. trallylocated, as illustrated herein, the persons arm or wrist generally rests upon the riirn ofthe bowl while holding a nut upon surface vl3 of the anvil, but this, of course, depends to agreat extent upon the location ofthe hammer surface, of the anvil within the bowl.

The draw ng sho'w' a h sl ik base ho 'ment used to crack the nut.

ing'a gradually rising central portion B,

prevent the nuts from slipping. By forming the structure in this manner, the blows ofa hammer cracking the nuts are distributed over the broad area or bottom surface of the bowl, hence when the device is held in a persons lap it does not occasion any discomfort. This, of course, maybe overcome to a still greater extent by padding the bottom of the bowl, for instance, with a layer of felt V, which also prevents scratching or marring a polished table surface.

, No matter what shape the bowl may take, I prefer that the surface, upon which the nuts are crushed or broken be formed in the manner shown to accommodate the different sizes of uts, even when a crushing lever is used in conjunction therewith, hence the per sons fingers holding the nut will rest against the sides of the anvil, as illustrated in Fig. 4, and are not likely to becrushed between the surface and the hammer or other lHStIll- Instead, the fingers will slide down the sides of the anvil portion and will not be bruised or injured. The advantage in graduating the width of the surface B enables a person to select that portion thereof which substantially corresponds to the size of the nut and thus rest hisfingers against the sides of the anvil in holding the nut thereon. a 5 he whole structure may, of course, be made as artistic and unique as desired. The plain, simpler form shown, however, well illustrates my'invention' Thechoice ofmate'rials likewise is a matter of individual preference, or manufacturing expense; It is quite essential, however, that the pounding surface be sufficiently solid and rigid to withstand. the hammer blows. Very excellent results are obtained by making the portion B from the pounding surface down to line F of metal, such as brass, copper, steel or the like, and the remaining portion of the bowllike base A of wood. Or it may be made integrally in one-piece of metal or'wood,

thickened at the anvil'or pounding surface sufiiciently to withstand the hammer blows. The structure shown is composed of two pieces, the anvil being of metal and fastened to the bowl from the bottom, as clearly shown in F-igs. 2 and 3 by the bolts 1 which screw into instanding lugs 2 of the hollow anvil portion.- The heads of the bolts are sunk into sockets 3, so as to leave the bottom of the bowl fiat. These, however, are matters of construction dependent to a considerable extent upon the expense and convemence of manufacturing the article.

My inventionpossesses the rather unique feature that it may be made up in sets for indiv dual use by constructing them so that they may be stacked inthe same manner that dishes are. piled. As shown in Fig. 5 the bottom of the bowl is provided with an opening so that the anvil portion of one may fit within the bottom of the one next above it in the stack. The bottom edges 4 are grooved to fit the rims. This manner of fitting the devices may be carried out Whether or not the location of the anvil is eentral' Within the bowl.

used with my novel device. l'n some instances'I use hammers small enough to lie \vithin the bowls when the devices are stacked up.

is thus made interesting and enjoyable, the whole outfit being self-contained and always ready for use. It may be made as elaborate or as simple in design asindividual choice may require. i

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: v i

1. The improvement herein described comprising a nut bowl in combination with an anvilfixed therein and having a hammer surface, said anvilv being of denser material than the bowl and the bowl, though of lighter material, being adapted to sustain blows communicated through the anvil.

2. The improvement herein described comadapting it for use upon the lap in combination with an anvil fixed therein and having a hammer surface, said anvil being of denser material than the bowl and the bowl, though of lighter material, being adapted to sustain blows communicated through the anvil.

3. The improvemcntherein described comprising a flat bottomed nut bowl in combination with an anvil fixed therein and hav ing a hammer surface rising above the rim of the bowl, said anvil being of denser matcrial than the bowl and the bowl though of lighter material, being adapted to sustain .blows communicated through the anvil.

4. The improvement herein described com- 'prising a nut bowl in combination with an anvil'fiXed therein. said anvil having a ham- .mer surface broad at one end and tapering to a narrow end to accommodate nuts of different sizes and said anvil being of denser material than said bowl.

5. The improvement herein described com. prising a nut bowl in combination with a substantially conical anvil fixed thereimsaid anvil being of denser material than the bowl and having a tapered han iner surface broad at one end and narrow at the other to accommodate nuts of different sizes.

6. The improvement herein described comprising a substantially conical nut cracking anvil having a hammer surface broad at one 6 Any sort of hammer may obviously be 7 it will-be. noted that the cracking of nuts prising a nut bowl having a flat bottom roe 7. The improvement herein described c0mprising a nut bowl of relatively light weight,

in combination with an anvil of relatively liezivy Weight, fixed in the bowl, and presenting a hammer surface above the rim thereof, substantially as described.

8. The imprevenient herein described comprising' a nut bowl in combination with a relatively heavy anvil fixed therein and presenting a tapered hammer surface, which is wide at one end and narrow at the ether, to receive nuts ot'difl'erent sizes, substantially as described.

9. The improvement herein described comprising a nut bowl iii-combination with a relatively heavy anvil -resembling a truncated cone, fixed in the bottom of said bowl and presenting a hammer surface above the rim of the bowl, substantially as and for the purpose specified. v

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 21st dayof September, 1911,

RALPH- A. PARSONS. 

